As you may know from prior announcements, ZCommunications has developed software for progressive social networking. It provides Facebook-like – and very soon Twitter-like and potentially much more functionality – with no commercial or coercive drawbacks. No spying. No ads. No selling user profiles. No limits on length of communications. Instead, substance and mutual aid.
It would be natural to conclude that our idea is to provide a system hosted by Z – which we call ZSocial – for everyone. Instead, our goal is far more encompassing, cooperative, and ambitious.
We want to give other organizations their own sites, hosted by them under their own logos, with all the sites linked together to constitute what we call, "FaceLeft."
Indeed, our first "co-host" has already signed on and we are now creating UTNESocial, to serve the U.S.-based periodical, Utne Reader, operating the same way as ZSocial. In time we hope there will also be – along with Utne and Z – DemocracyNowSocial (U.S.), RedPepperSocial (UK), IlManifestoSocial (Italy), AporiaSocial (Venezuela), LeMondeDiplomatiqueSocial (France/International), and many more.
Additionally, we hope there will also be organizational hosts, such as GreenpeaceSocial (International), SyrizaSocial (Greece), PSUVSocial (Venezuela), AFLCIOSocial (U.S.), and many more.
Extrapolating across the progressive media world, and then also across the progressive activist world, reveals the potential for FaceLeft.
Of course many progressive people already use Facebook and Twitter to catch up with old friends or family as well as to use these commercial systems for progressive uses with political friends. Along with the undeniable benefits of those pursuits, however, such users – and perhaps yourself, as well – are often worried at Facebook's and Twitter's corporate motives and priorities. The most recent news is that Facebook is developing tools to see where all its mobile members are literally all the time, whether they are logged in or not – quite an amazing notion when considered commercially for earmarked ads or repressively, for spying.
So we wondered, why not escape those dynamics, at least for the social change part of our online socializing – and why not do that not just to serve Z's audience, but to serve the whole progressive world? Indeed, why not develop progressive social networking without commercial and coercive negatives, and large enough to materially and socially benefit the entire world of progressive communications, activist organizations, and individual progressive users? And why not do it in a way that precludes hassle and fosters mutual aid?
How would FaceLeft work? And why and how would FaceLeft attract hosts and then their constituencies?
Each hosted system within the larger FaceLeft framework will directly serve the audience of its host, like ZSocial is for Z's audience and, soon, UTNESocial is for Utne Reader's audience. However, each hosted system will be maintained as part of the overall whole, by a FaceLeft staff.
Any individual user who joins any hosted system of FaceLeft will be simultaneously joining FaceLeft as a whole by way of its preferred host, such as Z, Utne Reader, etc.
Usoro ọ bụla akwadoro ga-enwe atụmatụ niile nke sistemụ nnabata ọ bụla nwere n'ihi na ha niile ga-eji otu ụkpụrụ ụlọ. Nkwalite ga-abawanye na sistemụ ọ bụla n'otu oge yana ihe ọhụrụ ọ bụla etinyere na ntanetị iji gboo mkpa ndị ọrụ wee mezuo arịrịọ ha. Ndị na-eji usoro ọ bụla akwadoro ga-enwe ike ịchọta kọntaktị n'ụzọ dị mfe, otu ha ga-esonye, ihe omume metụtara, mgbasa ozi na-eso, na ebe ndị nkịtị na-emekarị - niile nwere nhọrọ nbipute ọha na nke onwe - yana nkọwa nkọwa ịgbaso, ntuli aka. iji, na ọtụtụ ndị ọzọ. Ha ga-enwe ike ime nke ahụ n'ofe sistemụ akụrụngwa niile (ma ọ bụ, ọ bụrụ na onye ọrụ masịrị ya, site na naanị sistemụ ha họọrọ). FaceLeft ga-abụ nnukwu, mana kwa, n'oge ntụgharị, na-akpachi anya.
Ndị na-enye mgbasa ozi na òtù ndị na-akwado usoro ihe omume nke ha agaghị akwụ ụgwọ ọ bụla iji nweta ya. Ha agaghị enwe ibu ọrụ maka idobe ya. Ha nwere ike inye aka na mmezi ma ọ bụrụ na ha chọrọ, mana ebe ọ bụ na òtù dị otú ahụ na-arụsi ọrụ ike - ma ọ nwere ike ọ gaghị abụ iko tii ha - ndị ọrụ FaceLeft ga-adị njikere ime ya niile.
Ndị ọbịa nke sistemu akụrụngwa nke ọ bụla ga-adọta mpaghara nke ha ka ha sonye na sistemụ ha. Mana ha ga-enwetakwa ọdịnaya ha na-akpaghị aka, dịka ha chọrọ, na mbara igwe niile nke ndị ọrụ FaceLeft.
Onye ọrụ ọ bụla ga-akwụ $3, n'echiche dị ugbu a, na sistemụ nnabata ọ bụla ọ debanyere aha.
Kedu ka anyị ga-esi nweta ọbụna ndị ọrụ nwere ego iji kwụọ ụgwọ ahụ iji ghọta na ụgwọ $3 dị ntakịrị ma nwee ezi uche, yana ọ dị obere karịa "ọnụahịa" n'ozuzu ya karịa ịnyefe profaịlụ nkeonwe gị maka nrigbu azụmahịa? Oleekwa otú anyị ga-esi jeere ndị na-agaghị enwe ike ịkwụ ụgwọ ahụ?
User response will depend on users wanting to avoid ads and escape profile selling and spying. It will particularly depend, as well, on users wanting the material benefits that accrue from their progressive networking to stay within the progressive community rather than benefitting external corporations. And it will depend on users realizing that a social networking system oriented to activist and mutual aide needs, will, given time, develop facilities far more useful to their endeavors than a system that prioritizes seeking profit.
Imagine that for any of the above reasons Nikos joins SyrizaSocial (supposing that particular component comes into existence). Nikos pays $3 a month – or perhaps more, should he wish to donate beyond the minimum fee. The first third goes straight to Syriza. The second third goes to Faceleft for maintaining the whole operation, constantly innovating it, etc. The last third (in the current conception) goes into a pool that is distributed at the end of each month, with shares going to each participating host organization in a progressive way that benefits the smaller ones more than the larger ones.
With this approach, imagine that the U.S.-based AFLCIO joins and elicits participation from a significant subset of its relatively massive membership. Not only does the AFL-CIO and FaceLeft benefit, but this would also yield a big influx to the shared pool and every host would benefit from that. Ditto for the PSUV joining. These shared funds will hopefully help facilitate local hosts being able to subsidize participation by audiences that could otherwise not afford the fee.
The technology for all this is within reach. We can, and indeed we already are, using an early incarnation of it, and the current facilities, which are already quite good, can only get much better.
Faceleft as a whole, would be, then, a universe of users organized into component systems hosted by various organizations. Appealingly, unlike the usual situation with political alliances, the host organizations would have nothing to dispute about with each other.
Dịka ọmụmaatụ, were ya na onye ọrụ ebe dị na sistemụ nwere echiche maka ihe ọhụrụ. Ọ bụrụ na ọ bụghị esemokwu na ọ bụghị nke siri ike, ndị ọrụ FaceLeft na-eme ya na onye ọ bụla na-erite uru. Ọ bụrụ na ọ bụ arụmụka, ma ọ bụ siri ike, ọ na-abanye na ndepụta nke eluigwe na ala nke ndị ọrụ FaceLeft na ndị ọbịa na-eme ntuli aka. N'ụzọ ahụ, onye ọ bụla na-ahụ ihe ndị ọrụ na ndị ọbịa chọrọ, na ndị mmemme na-achụso ihe ọhụrụ na-adabere na mmasị nke mmasị. Uto nke akụkụ ọ bụla nke dum, na nke dum, na-abara onye ọ bụla uru.
FaceLeft nwere ike gbanye mgbọrọgwụ wee too?
Suppose we initially have Z, Utne, and then also, say, Democracy Now (U.S.), Red Pepper (British), Il Manifesto (Italian), Le Monde Diplomatique (French), Aporea (Venezuelan), and Babylonia (Greek), as media hosts (or some other set). Then, with a good selection of initial media organizations aboard, let's say we start advocating for participation much more widely with other progressive media groups of all sizes and focus. Once the vision gains some legs, why would a media group prefer that their users continue to exclusively use the largest spying agency in the world, a giant corporation, Facebook, without any material or organizational benefit accruing to progressive institutions? Why would they not want to team up with other progressive outfits, all over the world, in a shared effort that benefits everyone involved, materially, politically, and socially, even though there is no cost, no risk, and no reason for dispute or hassle?
Simultaneously, we begin communicating about Faceleft with a few activist organizations – feminist, ecological, labor, immigration, peace, or other groups around the world – and then, having involved enough of them to make the case for viability and significance, we branch out more widely on that side, as well. The same dynamic as with media organizations ensues. Once we get a few serious activist groups on board, would an activist or otherwise progressive organization who is invited thereafter say, no, I don't want to help provide a real, viable, worthy, alternative to giant corporations who are stealing our profiles and implicitly and sometimes even explicitly defining the range of our communications? I don't want to be part of a project that materially and socially benefits progressive organizations rather than giant multinationals – especially when participating yields revenues for my organization and involves no additional work for our overstretched staff?
Ọ dị mma, were ya na FaceLeft nwere ọtụtụ ndị ọbịa na-eto eto. Iri, iri abụọ, iri anọ, ma ọ bụ karịa. Ndị otu onye ọrụ ya ọ ga-eto? Mpaghara nke uwe mgbasa ozi ndị a na-anabata ya na ndị otu na-akwado ọrụ ga-edebanye aha dị ka ndị ọrụ zuru oke maka ego ha na-atụnye ego na-agbakwunye ngwa na atụmatụ iji nyere ndị otu niile aka? Ọ̀tụ̀tụ̀ na-agbanwe agbanwe na njirimara ọ̀ ga-eme ka ndị mmadụ na-eme ka obodo ịkparịta ụka n'Ịntanet bụrụ ebe ndị na-eme ihe na ịkparịta ụka n'Ịntanet na-aga n'ihu?
Ọ dị anyị ka mmadụ ole na ole ga-, ozugbo FaceLeft na-eto eto, sonye n'ọkwa ya kama isonye na Facebook na Twitter, na nke ahụ ga-eme nke a iji kwalite ọrụ azụmahịa ndị ahụ, ka na-eji Facebook na Twitter soro ndị na-ege ntị na-abụghị ndị ndọrọ ndọrọ ọchịchị na-akpakọrịta. , ezinụlọ, na ndị enyi, mana iji FaceLeft maka ebumnuche ọha na ndọrọ ndọrọ ọchịchị karịa.
The hardest step of succeeding may be getting the first few host organizations on board. And that is why we are now writing up the full FaceLeft idea for the Z audience. Anyone who wishes to get on board and help in the early stages can certainly join ZSocial (or, soon, UTNESocial) and urge others to do so as well. But many of you are also in other constituencies, and in addition to directly joining ZSocial or UtneSocial, or getting others to do so, you could suggest hosting a FaceLeft component site to various other potential host organizations. At first, these need to be rather large – else the costs of setting up systems would exceed our means. But once a bunch of large organizations are aboard and their constituencies are signing up, reaching out more widely will be possible.
Here is the punchline. FaceLeft is a way for alternative media and activist organizations to cooperatively host a collective effort that provides a great service, generates massive connectivity and mutual aid, and advances the financial prospects of all alternative media and activist organizations.
We hope you will agree with us about the potential of FaceLeft to benefit social change as well as serve all its participants, and that you will, in light of that, support FaceLeft. We hope as art of the Z constituency you will join ZSocial and that you will urge people you know in other constituencies to take a chance on advocating for a widely shared international mechanism for left media and activist institutions of diverse kinds to work cooperatively to each other's collective benefit.
A na-akwado ZNetwork naanị site na mmesapụ aka nke ndị na-agụ ya.
inye